A Secret Revealed
by AirmidM
Summary: 'Live to Rise' story arc. Gin finally does as she has been threatening for years... visit the Sorting Hat. D/B/G and a couple of other pairings mentioned. Takes place a few months after the final chapter of Live to Rise.


**A/N: **This is a 'cookie' of sorts for the Live to Rise story arc, it happens a few months after the final chapter of Live to Rise. I am working on my other fics and haven't fallen of the face of the earth. Enjoy!

**A Secret Revealed**

Hugo was still wary. Oh, he knew that he had been accepted – that his apology had been accepted. But, it was still a bit strange to be meeting his cousin Victoire and her husband Teddy for lunch at Cerridwen's. It was one place he had never dared to step foot in for many years. If he were honest with himself, which he had been doing as of late, he hadn't wanted to go anywhere near the people that had accepted his Aunt Gin and her loved ones; the guilt over his actions and his family's actions had been too much to bear even when he had been a student at Hogwarts.

Pushing open the door, he smiled as Lilis called out a hurried greeting. Yeah, he had a family now. A sane one, well sane in the sense that none of them were candidates for St Mungo's anyway. He lifted a hand in reply and wound through the tables to the back room. Victoire's summons had come at breakfast. He didn't dare turn her down, though she was nowhere as scary as Auntie Gin, Margot, or Grand. Good god, he had a grandma that wasn't utterly insane. It was almost unfathomable. As to what this little get-together was about, he knew he would find out in due time. He wasn't too fussed about catering to any of his 'new' relatives whims to be honest. Spotting the duo, he outright grinned as Teddy fussed over the heavily pregnant blonde.

"All right there, Vic?" he said dryly, dropping unceremoniously into the overstuffed chair on the other side of the low table and large chair the two of them were sitting in.

She scowled, though he didn't miss the slight upturn of her mouth that told him she was really amused and trying to hide it. "If this one could keep his hands off me, I would be. At this rate, I may beat out Auntie Gin."

Laughing, unable to resist it, Hugo just shook his head and shot Teddy a cheeky grin. "Uh huh, you have three… four counting the one you are baking. That is nowhere near Auntie Gin and you know it."

"Speaking of Auntie Gin," Teddy said wickedly. "She is meeting us in a few minutes. The time has come to settle a long-standing bet."

Shooting a playful wink at Melly, or Melisande Bletchley, the youngest of Lilis and Miles' brood, as she brought over his coffee and sandwich, he allowed one brow to rise. "Oh? Which bet would that be?"

Melly snickered, buffing her nails on her bright pink shirt. "Ohhhh, I want to guess!"

"Go on then," Teddy said.

"She is finally trying on the sorting hat, isn't she," Melly all but demanded. "She has been threatening for years and years now. Uncle Ris would let her do it, now that he is Headmaster."

Hugo's eyes widened. Oh dear. He knew, as did everyone except Auntie Gin, what the hat would say. That meant one of two things: a. Auntie Gin would be in a stroppy, hex-happy mood or b. she would refuse to tell them what the hat had said and would have threatened Ariston with Lilis to make sure he didn't ever reveal the decision.

"Melly, darling, you are absolutely correct."

Hugo turned to see Auntie Gin grinning widely, her eyes lit with humour. "So?"

Auntie Gin snickered, kissing Melly's cheek and then his before moving to pat Victoire's baby bump and kiss both her niece and Teddy. "I need chocolate, lots of chocolate before I say a word."

Melly leaned down and whispered in Hugo's ear. "Maybe she will tell us after all."

Amused, he turned his head and whispered back. "If she says it told her she should have been a Slytherin all along, I owe you dinner and a trip to the ballet."

Smirking, Melly nodded as she stood. "I bet Mummy already has your order ready, Auntie. Please don't tell without me here. I have a hefty bet riding on your answer."

Hugo sat back, wondered why his Gryffindor courage had chosen to return now. Melly was a couple of years older than him, not that he really cared. It was just that he never thought she would do anything except call on her brothers, dad, and uncles to kick his sorry arse before hexing him stupid for even implying that he wanted to ask her out on a date. Shrugging, he studied the top of his mug. Nothing doing now, he was in for it if she decided to be offended and not amused. He would deal with it as it came.

-bgd—

Gin shared a knowing look with Victoire. So, Hugo had finally made a move, had he? If he had thought the conversation between him and Melly hadn't been heard, he had a lot to learn about the lot of them. Melly knew; the cheeky grin her honorary niece had sent her behind Hugo's back was proof of that. In the months since he had approached them on the platform, Hugo had slowly integrated himself into the family. It did her good to see him slowly relaxing and coming out of his shell. Behind that angry boy, now a young man, had been a prankster of Gred and Forge calibre. In fact, Hugo spent most of his time with George bonding over blowing things up as far as she could see. Rumour had it that George was thinking of taking him on as a partner. Time would tell.

Once Melly returned, with Lilis and Anthony in tow, Gin sat back and sipped her drink. "You would think," she began teasingly, "that such a small thing as me visiting Ris would not cause such a commotion."

Lilis rolled her eyes. "We all know what the hat said, Gin, so just fess up so I can start Flooing my brothers for my winnings."

Gin laughed and laughed. "Are you so certain you know what it said?"

Victoire sniffed, looking indignant. "Unless it really is a sadist, yes."

Snickering, she let the silence stretch, knowing it had to be killing them not to know. She was just glad that Morag was spending the day with Dougal and Margot, otherwise threats to hex her would have likely been issued by now. "Well… I would hate to disappoint anyone…"

"Auntie Gin," Hugo, Victoire, Teddy, and Melly chorused indignantly.

Enjoying herself, Gin set her plate and cup down slowly, shifting to get more comfortable. Finally, she sighed heavily- milking this for all it was worth. "Ris still hasn't stopped laughing, if the manner in which he was rolling around on the floor holding his sides and laughing when I left was any indication."

Anthony smirked, shaking his head, but true to form, he stayed silent. Lilis scowled, planting her hands on her hips. "Out with it!"

"Yes, ma'am," Gin retorted cheekily. "The hat said it knew I would show up at some point. There was a long rambling monologue, much like the sorting song. Really," she said, tipping her head and trying for an impatient expression, "I nearly hexed it to get it to the point."

"Gin," Lilis said, her eyes narrowing, "I will withhold baked goods…"

She rolled her eyes. "The hat said I had enough bravery for ten people."

"And?" Hugo said impatiently.

"Loyalty, scads of loyalty," she said with a chuckle.

"It did _not_ tell you that you should have been a Hufflepuff!" Teddy exclaimed, looking scandalized, almost sputtering, "You would have eaten up the entire house and spit them out within five minutes!"

She flipped her plait over her shoulder and grinned. "I would have ruled," she said dreamily. "It would have almost been like having my own country."

"Yes, yes," Lilis said, making a 'get talking' motion with her hands.

Truly enjoying this, Gin straightened. "Then it mentioned my cunning."

"Oh dear," Victoire muttered, "How long did it go on about that? We all know you are just as cunning as Grand."

Gin blew her a playful kiss. "You say the nicest things, lovely. We should go shopping this afternoon so I can properly spoil you for complimenting me."

Victoire grinned. "You have to tell us the rest before we can commence with the spoiling."

"Oh," she said feigning surprise. "You want to know what it said about where I would be sorted? Well, why didn't you say so?" She barely held in her laughter at their expressions. "Fine. Ruin my fun. It said that its previous decision still stood." She waited for all of them to react, trying not to burst out laughing at the looks of shock. "Oh, I should mention that it gave me a choice when I was sorted the first time."

"And?" Lilis bit out, glowering now.

"I would have done well in any house, though it said that Hufflepuff was not an option… the hat seemed to feel the way Teddy did about the safety of my housemates should I go there."

They all stared.

"It was my choice and always was. Did I never mention that?"

"No," they chorused disbelievingly.

She shrugged, stringing them along without one bit of remorse. "Oops. But, to settle the bets I know you lot are so worried about… the hat said I would do best in Slytherin or Gryffindor, that my intelligence wasn't in question, just my interest in doing more than necessary in regards to my classwork. It did, however, try and push me to Slytherin." Grinning, she stood. "So, by my estimation, anyone who bet Gryffindor or Slytherin wins."

"You can't have two correct answers!" Teddy protested.

She shrugged. "Why not?"

"I think the best way to settle this is to ask if you could go back and make the choice over…what would you have picked?" Anthony was studying her, mischief in his eyes.

"Ohh, well then, Slytherin." With that she helped Victoire to her feet and they left the rest staring at them, some more shocked than others.

She and Victoire both laughed when they heard Melly say, "So, Hugo, when are we going to the ballet?"

"You did that on purpose," Victoire accused once they were outside and moving towards the shops.

Gin winked at her. "Perhaps. Then again, Ris will never tell, nor will the hat. I could have made it all up so far as anyone knows."

Victoire stopped her, tipping her head and sighing. "You did, didn't you?"

"Lie?" Gin adopted her most innocent expression. "Would I lie just to get my nephew a date he has been working towards since before he accepted his parents were insane?"

Patting her arm, Victoire smiled widely. "I think you would do anything necessary to make certain your loved ones were happy."

Gin kept smiling, wondering exactly what Victoire thought she knew. "Would I?"

She found herself pulled into Eolas and through the shop to the office, where Victoire closed and warded the door. "Daddy helped Kingsley."

Gin's jaw dropped and she leant on the desk as to not fall over. "He knew all along?"

"The moment the twins were born, according to Daddy anyway, Kingsley immediately moved to protect Uncle Draco. He suspected before, what with the way you were so insistent that no one know the twins' father's name, that it was likely someone from a known Death Eater family. Daddy told me that his first thought was that you would have searched Uncle Draco out, knowing what you did about being under someone else's control. He said you always had a great capacity for compassion and understanding even though you preferred to hex first and alibi later."

Gin held up a hand to stop the flow of information. "He didn't hate me? I did, quite literally, sleep with the enemy after all."

Victoire sniffled, hugging her, shaking her head all the while. "No, no no no. Of course he didn't! In fact-" she paused, sighing heavily. "He would be so angry if he knew I told you any of this."

"It will be our little secret," Gin assured her, helping the younger woman sit down.

"Good. Anyway, Daddy said that there must have been something redeemable about Uncle Draco for you to have spoken to him, let alone comforted him in whatever way you could. Granted, he was all green and scowling at the thought of you shagging anyone, but that was more a brother-type reaction than anything. I think he has convinced himself that your kids just magically appeared."

Gin chuckled at that, sitting on the arm of Victoire's chair.

"Apparently, Daddy and Grandpa Kingsley met with Headmaster Snape. Daddy said 'that grumpy bastard' said that you seemed to bring the best out in his more troublesome students and that he admired you for your spirit and determination."

"Really?" Gin was stunned. Sure, Severus Snape had been far less grumpy and condescending to her even before she showed up pregnant in his office, but to hear that a man she admired had said such things really did mean a lot to her. Many times over the years, she had wondered what role, if any, he would have played in her children's lives had he survived the war. Her favourite scenario was him teaching the children potions in the lab at Valhalla, with Blaise, Draco, and Theo there helping him.

"Auntie?"

Gin shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "Sorry, lovely, I took a little trip, back now though."

Victoire laughed. "I have one last thing to tell you. Daddy said he didn't know how you stood it for all those years."

"Stood what, darling girl?"

"Living without a piece of your heart."

"What do you mean," she whispered.

"Oh, everyone knows that you and Uncle Blaise love each other so much that it is almost overwhelming to the rest of us, but he could tell that something…_someone_ was missing. You are the bravest person he knows."

Gin didn't realise she was crying until Victoire reached up to brush the tears off of her face. "I'm not brave, Vic. Not at all. Horrible Gryffindor, I am."

"You are, and so is Uncle Blaise. He, Daddy, Uncle Charlie, and Uncle George got drunk one night years and years ago. Apparently, he owned up to helping Uncle Draco- silencing charms and slipping him sleeping draughts- that year. You both were trying to help, not knowing what the other was doing. Not knowing that whilst you had deep feelings for one another, you also did for Uncle Draco."

Gin simply gaped, tears still streaming down her face, not even sure she could explain why she was crying. "B and I talked the summer before Brais started Hogwarts. That was how we came around to the idea that neither of us would be averse to bringing Draco in, so long as he was no longer married. I just never realised that he shared anything with them."

"He was dead drunk, I am fairly certain he doesn't remember sharing and you know Daddy and the Uncles… they are not going to bring it up."

Snickering lightly, Gin shook her head. "When it took Draco all that time to loosen up around us, we feared it would never work out. Those were the tough years, to be honest."

Victoire patted her hand. "But, you have both of them now. Speaking of, usually they aren't far from you."

Gin's grin was wicked. "Oh, no, today they aren't far from one another."

Victoire blanched. "That is so wrong! I do not need to have any images in my head of what they get up to!"

Biting back laughter, Gin just kept grinning. "I like to give them time with one another, just like Draco does for Blaise and me and Blaise for Draco and me."

"No more details, I beg you!"

Gin stood, holding out a hand to help Victoire to her feet. "Shopping it is then."

Victoire slowly got to her feet, gripping Gin's arm. "So, since you know this whole conversation never happened… what did the sorting hat really say?"

Gin rolled her eyes and muttered, "Ravenclaw. Both times. I just insisted on Gryffindor so I could be with my brothers."

"Damn it all! I would have won every blessed sickle!"

Gin just laughed, making a mental note to make up for the lost winnings in a way that would not raise suspicions. Sometimes being a closet Ravenclaw really did work in her favour.


End file.
